Yesterday’s meeting between my guys in prison and a couple Oregon State University criminology classes was excellent. My guys wowed them. Although I’m completely pooped, today is the only day my helper friend can come to clean. Argh!
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today;s took me 3:48 (average 5:25). To do it, click here. How did you do?
I thought they might not let me out!!
It’s prisoner volunteer day, and I’m hurrying like crazy.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 2:38 (average 4:55). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From PRWatch: The Wisconsin Senate held a hearing of sorts on the GOP proposal to make Wisconsin a "right to work" state.
The bill pushed by Wisconsin Senate leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) bears a striking similarity to the American Legislative Exchange Council "model" bill of the same name (see CMD’s side-by-side comparison here). In his opening statement, Sen. Fitzgerald claimed that right to work legislation would "protect every worker" from being forced to join a union. He added that the legislation would save families from being uprooted by having to find non-union employers elsewhere. He presented no data or even anecdotal evidence to support these claims.
The argument that the bill would protect workers from "forced" unionization is a red herring. The U.S. Supreme Court has long stated that nobody can be forced to join a union, or be forced to pay unions dues, or to have their dues go to political campaigns. What current federal and Wisconsin law allows, and what the right to work law would make illegal, are "fair share" agreements and fees in union contracts that make all represented workers, including those choosing not to join the union, contribute to the costs of worker representation on the job.
Click through for more detail on how Fartfuhrer Walker’s vile minions are whoring themselves for Koch rocks.
From The New Yorker: In the hopes of appealing to Republican primary voters, candidates for the 2016 Presidential nomination are working around the clock to unlearn everything that they have learned since the third grade, aides to the candidates have confirmed.
With the Iowa caucuses less than a year away, the hopefuls are busy scrubbing their brains of basic facts of math, science, and geography in an attempt to resemble the semi-sentient beings that Republican primary voters prize.
An aide to Jeb Bush acknowledged that, for the former Florida governor, “The unlearning curve has been daunting.”
“The biggest strike against Jeb is that he graduated from college Phi Beta Kappa,” the aide said. “It’s going to take a lot of work to get his brain back to its factory settings.”
At the campaign of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, the mood was considerably more upbeat, as aides indicated that Walker’s ironclad façade of ignorance is being polished to a high sheen.
“The fact that Scott instinctively says that he doesn’t know the answers to even the easiest questions gives him an enormous leg up,” an aide said.
Andy’s satire is so accurate, that it might as well be factual.
From Think Progress: Texas State Rep. Debbie Riddle (R) has introduced two new bills that seek to criminalize the use of bathrooms by transgender people. Not only could trans people face jail time and fines for using gender-segregated facilities that match their gender, so too could businesses who make their facilities open to trans patrons.
Businesses might post "Trans patrons peeing on Republican Reps permitted!"
Cartoon:
It’s a busy day. I have a grocery delivery coming, and I need to prepare for prison volunteer work tomorrow, I wont leave until early afternoon, so I hope to get articles posted before I leave.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s tool me 2:34 (average 4:58). To do it, click here. How did you do? Does anyone have some salt and pepper?
Short Takes:
From Upworthy: John Oliver brutally mocks political ads for women, and it’s hilarious.
Labor did mess up on that one. To reach out to woman all they needed was a video of Pat A dancing in yoga pants.
From Daily Kos: Idaho lawmakers were debating a bill that ban doctors from prescribing emergency contraceptives during telemedicine consults (via private video chats, particularly helpful for those in rural areas), when they had a surprising question from Republican Rep. Vito Barbieri:
An Idaho lawmaker received a brief lesson on female anatomy after asking if a woman can swallow a small camera for doctors to conduct a remote gynecological exam.
…….
Dr. Julie Madsen was testifying in opposition to the bill when Barbieri asked the question. Madsen replied that would be impossible because swallowed pills do not end up in the vagina.
Camera’s, on the other hand, are very useful for Republican rectal exams. Point the camera at the Republican’s face. 😈
From NPR: Amid turnout of only a third of registered voters, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is headed for a runoff in his re-election bid, according to figures released by the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners.
With 98.6 percent of precincts reporting, the former congressman and chief of staff for President Barack Obama leads with 45.37 percent of the vote, followed by Democratic Cook County Commissioner Jesus "Chuy" Garcia with 34 percent.
Emanuel required a vote of 50 percent plus one to avoid a runoff. The runoff election with Garcia is scheduled for April 7.
The AP reports a number of problems that created a drag on Emanuel’s campaign…
Obama’s biggest appointment mistakes were the Three Blind Mice. Appointing Rahmbo was almost as bad. He’s corrupt. He’s corporate. He’s bad for Chicago. Go Chuy!
Cartoon:
I just gave my grocery order to Store to Door for delivery tomorrow. I have lots od housework to do, and I hope to sit outside for a half an hour or so, as it’s the last nice day before crappy weather returns. I slept poorly last night, so I’m fading.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 3:50 (average 5:27). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From Daily Kos: Instead of resisting calls for reform, Ron Smith—the head of the Seattle Police Guild is trying to lead Seattle police in a more positive direction—even if he has to do it the hard way:
Last week, however, the union called on members through Facebook to be careful on social media after officers were caught posting racially inflammatory comments online, warning: “Times have changed and we must also change to adapt to societal expectations.”
Asked by the Stranger to elaborate on those comments, Smith said: “If you don’t like the politics here, then leave and go to a place that serves your worldview.” He said this was a message that new recruits were now reminded of when they enrolled with the union.
“There are more than enough places across this country that are hiring law enforcement that have a different political landscape than here. And I don’t know why [disgruntled officers] don’t just go there,” he added.
Kudos. That move needs to be repeated across the country.
From Upworthy: Underrepresented actors often have been complicit in creating ethnic stereotypes in the media. For my own part, I rented out my Asian face to Jerry Lewis back in the day.
Now we’re not only speaking out, but creating, writing, and portraying who we are — as we are — in our great, dazzling diversity. As we contribute our authentic selves, the comedy becomes specific and real, the drama is distinctive and identifiable, and our society grows enriched and involving.
Hollywood and the media now have the opportunity to actively engage with the talented diversity that comprises our entire society. But is it "to be or not to be? That is the question." — George Takei
George is so right, and this is so true. Of course, if minorities are not presented stereotypically, the studios lose the entire Republican audience.
From Think Progress: …A lawsuit called King v. Burwell would take health insurance away from millions of Americans, returning them to the world that existed before Obamacare. The case relies on a few words of the law that, if read out of context, seem to deny tax credits intended to help people pay for their health insurance to people who live in the wrong states. Once those words are read in the context of the entire law, however, it becomes clear that tax credits are available in all 50 states.
A brief filed on behalf of multiple public health scholars and the American Public Health Association, estimates that “over 9,800 additional Americans” will die if the justices side with the King plaintiffs. It reaches this conclusion by starting with an Urban Institute study showing that 8.2 million people will become uninsured in this scenario. As other research examining Obamacare-like reforms in the state of Massachusetts found that “for every 830 adults gaining insurance coverage there was one fewer death per year,” that translates to between 9,800 and 9,900 deaths if the justices back the plaintiffs in King.
Another method produces slightly less grim numbers, although it still indicates that thousands will die unnecessarily if the Supreme Court does not uphold the tax credits at issue in King. The Harvard study mentioned above concludes that there were “approximately 44,789 deaths among Americans aged 18 to 64 years in 2005 associated with lack of health insurance.” It also states that, at the time of the study, “46 million Americans lack health coverage.” The 8.2 million people who will lose health care according to the Urban Institute equals just under 18 percent of 46 million. Thus, assuming that the pool of 8.2 million people who could lose health insurance in King has a similar mix of healthy and sick individuals as the 46 million examined by the Harvard study, that suggests that approximately 8,000 people will die every year if the King plaintiffs prevail.
King could not be a more obvious decision. The question comes down to this. Will all the Fascist Five Injustices value breaking the law to coddle extremists enough to murder thousands to do it?
Cartoon:
I’m pretty buried with preparing my grocery list for this week, housework, and getting ready for my volunteer day in prison on Thursday. My mail-order pharmacy got back to me. They admitted that they were at fault, apologized for my inconvenience, have removed the charge for the wrong medication, and are not charging me for the correct medication, which they mailed this morning. They exceeded my expectations.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 3:12 (average 5:11). To do it, click here. How dod you do?
Short Takes:
From Daily Kos: Why would anyone vote Republican? Well, here are 10 reasons.
1. You are a bigot
It’s true that not all Republicans are bigots. But if you ARE a bigot, the Republican party will be much more your group than the Democratic party. Remember that there are lots of ways to be a bigot: You could be a racist, a homophobe, an Islamophobe, or lots of other things.
2. You like eating, drinking and breathing poison.
Many Republicans are calling for or voting for shrinking or eliminating agencies that protect us against poison. They seem to think that the corporations will do the right thing, without any pressure from the government. Uh huh. Read The Jungle. Look at the way Monsanto is hiding facts about Round Up. Look at food safety and outbreaks of E. Coli.
Corporations exist to make money. They will do so any way they can. The government needs to stop them from doing so in ways that hurt people.
3. You think the rich don’t have enough money
The idea that giving more money to rich people (via tax breaks) will help poor people is nonsensical and has been shown wrong time and again in history. Huge tax breaks for the rich (a la George Bush) don’t work.
These aye just the top three. Click through for the other seven.
From NY Times: It was a memorable political ad [Barf Bag Alert!!]: Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin spoke directly into the camera in a 30-second spot last fall and called abortion an “agonizing” decision. He described himself as pro-life but, borrowing the language of the abortion rights movement, pointed to legislation he signed that leaves “the final decision to a woman and her doctor.”
That language was gone when Mr. Walker met privately with Iowa Republicans in a hotel conference room last month, according to a person who attended the meeting. There, he highlighted his early support for a “personhood amendment,” which defines life as beginning at conception and would effectively prohibit all abortions and some methods of birth control.
Mr. Walker has quickly vaulted into the top tier of likely Republican candidates in the presidential race, surging on the reputation he earned by taking on labor unions and surviving a bitter recall election in a swing state.
Was the Fartfuhrer of Fitzwalkerstan lying in that political ad last fall? Was he lying to Iowa Republicans? Has he ever told the truth?
From Crooks and Liars: Unlike CNN’s Gloria Borger who brought Paul Wolfowitz on this Sunday for some Republican rehab, MSNBC’s Melissa Harris-Perry took former governor and GOP 2016 presidential candidate Jeb Bush to task for seeking advice from the former Deputy Secretary of Defense and reminded us of the fact that he was wrong about just about everything when he was working for Bush’s brother.
MHP and I have something in common. I also slammed Strike Three for tapping Wrong Way Wolfie.
Cartoon:
Today I have a lot of housework chores, and I have to plan my menu and shopping list for this week. I am also suffering from Orb withdrawal. Sunday just feels incomplete.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 3:27 (average 5:48). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From Daily Kos: Hilarious Full-Page Ad in NYT Skewers Boehner
It looks like Bozo Boner chose Butcher Bibi.
From the New Yorker: In his weekly radio address, President Barack Obama reaffirmed his love of country, telling the nation, “I love America—even its idiots.”
Expanding on this theme, the President said, “America is made up of all kinds of people: young and old, weak and strong, smart and dumb. And when the really dumb ones get up and act like total clowns, I still love them, because they are part of America. In fact, a really big part.”
Andy and Obama can love the idiots. I’ll keep identifying them as Republicans.
From Politico: Sen. Lindsey Graham said Sunday the U.S. is facing more terrorist threats than ever and defunding the Department of Homeland Security would be the worst possible thing to do.
Some Republicans aren’t supporting a bill to fund the agency unless it scuttles President Barack Obama’s executive actions on immigration. But the South Carolina senator said he hopes fellow Republicans will allow the immigration issue to play out in court after a federal judge in Texas issued an injunction last week blocking Obama’s immigration actions. Graham said he supports the judge’s decision.
If Republicans fail to fund DHS, he said, they’ll get blamed as a party.
OMG! Somebody shoot me!! I agree with Lindsey Poo!!! EWWW!!!! Of course there is a reason Republicans will be blamed, if they defund DHS. It will be completely their fault!
Cartoon:
I get to take a comparatively lazy day, and I’m feeling somewhat lethargic, so I must need it. I’m having a fight with my mail order pharmacy. They sent me a different med than the prescription I told them to refill, and are questioning whether they should refund the charges, because they thought I had ordered it by mistake. I’m waiting for them to review it, buy am ready to remind them that Portland has another mail order pharmacy.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 4:45 (average 5:34). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From Upworthy: These racist idiots spray-painted a swastika on the dumbest location possible.
Of course, the Hindu swastika and the Republican swastika have virtually opposite meanings.
From The New Yorker: A largely forgotten man sought attention on Wednesday night before returning to obscurity on Thursday, according to reports.
The man, whom many Americans had difficulty placing, was making a desperate bid to remind people of his existence, experts believe.
His efforts were somewhat successful, as his widely reported outburst caused people across the country to rack their brains to try to remember who he was.
After briefly attempting to recall where they had seen the man before, many people gave up and moved on with their days, but for others, the desperate man’s remarks left a bitter aftertaste.
“There is no excuse for making comments like those, no matter who you are,” Tracy Klugian, forty-seven, of Springfield, Missouri, said. “Who is he again?”
Andy is saying the same thing I was saying yesterday. He’s desperate for attention.
From Daily Kos: …Here’s a synopsis of the questions O’Reilly is refusing to answer:
Click through for an extensive article on this story. May I suggest that O’Lielly’s most dangerous war experience was disrespecting a troop of Brownie Scouts on a school bus. They beat him up and took his lunch money. They also tried to kick him in the gonads, but couldn’t find any.
Cartoon:
\
Yesterday I took my friend with cancer to dinner. All things considered, she has a positive attitude. The food was excellent, and I am still a danger zone. If only there was a Republican available. 😈
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 3:38 (average 6:13). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From MoveOn: President Obama says he’ll veto the latest attempt by Congress to push through the Keystone XL pipeline, but he hasn’t yet committed to rejecting this dangerous proposal outright.
As always, the Reich on left, Robert Reich, is right, while the Reich on the Right, the Republican Reich, is wrong. They are bought and paid for by corporate criminals, who don’t care how much they harm YOU! Click through for the MoveOn petition.
From Media Matters: The American Thinker – "one of my most favorite and thoughtful blogs," according to Rush Limbaugh – reports that President Obama flashed a "Muslim gang sign" at an event last year by pointing his index finger upwards.
F.W. Burleigh, "author of It’s All About Muhammad, a Biography of the World’s Most Notorious Prophet," wrote [bigot delinked] for the conservative website that an "astonishing photo" of Obama during a summit with African leaders shows him "flashing the one-finger affirmation of Islamic faith to dozens of African delegates." According to Burleigh, "the one-finger display is the distinctive Muslim gang sign" and "With his forefinger in the air, Obama affirmed his membership in this tribe." He also postulates that Muslim African leaders present at the event were "all smiles" because "They knew what Obama’s upright forefinger meant."
Dang!! You can fertilize your veggies with that load!
From Daily Kos: Why Minnesota is Doing Better than Wisconsin
We in Minnesota have a Democratic Governor. Our Mark Dayton is a rich Democrat — the heir of the family who started the Dayton’s Department Stores and B. Dalton Bookstores and Target — and he was educated at Yale, so he’s actually pretty smart for a guy who inherited money. Citizens of Wisconsin have a Republican Governor (Scott Walker, who brags about dropping out of college). In Minnesota we have a balanced budget, partly because we raised taxes on the top earners. In Wisconsin, they cut taxes on rich people and are now scrambling to cut spending (including major cuts for the once proud University of Wisconsin (which breaks my heart)).
The difference should surprise nobody.
Cartoon:
Republicans don’t want to know this.